1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a closure assembly for a record medium entry passage to load and unload a main housing of a CD player, a CD changer, or the like with a record medium.
2. Related Art
Some automobiles are mounted with one of various types of car audio units including a record medium reproduction unit like a compact disk (called as CD hereinafter) player and a CD changer. The CD changer accommodates a plurality of CDs as record mediums to reproduce selected information according to an instruction of a car occupant. The information is output as an audio one from a speaker of the reproduction unit.
The CD player or the CD changer has a record medium insertion opening for entry of a plurality of CDs. The insertion opening has a door to prevent dust and contaminants from coming into the CD changer.
Some of the CD players or the CD changers have a closure assembly for inserting CD in a main housing thereof, in which a vehicle occupant pushes CD onto a door panel of the main housing. A record medium insertion opening 109 of a conventional closure assembly 101 illustrated in FIGS. 20 to 23 is opened to allow insertion of CD only when the occupant operates an associated switch.
The closure assembly 101, which opens a record medium insertion opening 119 (shown in FIGS. 22 and 23) only when the switch has been operated, has a door 113 to close and open the insertion opening 119, a gear 115, an actuating member 107 positioned within the main housing, etc.
The door 113 is a plate bar and is turnably supported at an end 113a thereof to open and close the insertion opening 119. The door 113 unitarily has a gear 121 at the end 113a as illustrated in FIGS. 20 and 21.
The gear 115 is turnable and engages with the gear 121. The door 113 and the gear 115 are resiliently biased in a direction such that the door 113 closes the insertion opening 119. The door 113 and the gear 115 close the insertion opening 119 when they are apart from the actuating member 107 as illustrated in FIGS. 20 and 22.
The actuating member 107 is slidable in the main housing so as to move inward and outward in the main housing. The actuating member 107 contacts the gear 115 when extended from the main housing, so that, as illustrated in FIGS. 21 and 23, the gear 115 turns the door 113 to open the insertion opening 119.
In response to the operation of the switch, in the closure assembly 101, the actuating member 107 moves to extend from the main housing so as to turn the gear 115 so that the door 113 opens the insertion opening 119. Thereby, the occupant can insert CDs 103 into the main housing or remove them from the main housing.
The closure assembly 101 is resiliently biased only such that the door 113 closes the insertion opening 119. Meanwhile, an vehicle occupant, who tends to insert CD 103 into the CD changer by pushing the door 113 with CD 103, may try to insert CD 103 in the same way, even when the main housing is not in a state to allow entry of CD 103 into main housing.
As described above, the conventional closure assembly 101 has the disadvantage that the record medium is undesirably received when the main housing is not in a state to allow entry of CD 103 into the main housing through the insertion opening 119.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an closure assembly for a record medium entry passage of a record medium reproduction unit, which can surely prevent entry of a record medium except when the record medium is allowed to enter a main housing of the unit.
For achieving the object, a first aspect of the invention is a mechanism for opening and closing a record medium entry passage to load and unload a main housing of a record medium reproduction unit with a record medium. The mechanism includes:
an entry opening for passing the record medium,
a stopper panel movable between a preventing position to prevent entry of the record medium through the entry passage into the main housing and an allowing position to allow entry of the record medium through the record medium into the main housing, and
an actuating mechanism for moving the stopper panel between the preventing position and the allowing position,
wherein, the actuating mechanism moves the stopper panel from the preventing position to the allowing position when the main housing is loaded or unloaded with the record medium, and the stopper panel prevents entry of the record medium into the main housing when the stopper panel is at the preventing position.
Thus, the actuating mechanism moves the stopper panel to the preventing position to prevent entry of the record medium into the main housing. That is, the stopper panel prevents entry of the record medium into the main housing except when the actuating mechanism moves the stopper panel to the allowing position to allow entry of the record medium. This prevents an incorrect insertion of the record medium.
A second aspect of the invention is a mechanism for opening and closing a record medium entry passage to load and unload a main housing of a record medium reproduction unit with a record medium. The mechanism includes:
an entry opening for passing the record medium,
a closing unit to open and close the entry opening
a stopper panel movable between a preventing position to prevent entry of the record medium through the record medium into the main housing and an allowing position to allow entry of the record medium through the record medium into the main housing, the stopper panel being independent from the closing unit, and
an actuating mechanism for moving the stopper panel between the preventing position and the allowing position,
wherein the actuating mechanism moves the closing unit to open the insertion opening simultaneously with the movement of the stopper panel from the preventing position to the allowing position, and the actuating mechanism moves the closing unit to close the insertion opening simultaneously with the movement of the stopper panel from the allowing position to the preventing position.
Thus, the closing unit and the stopper panel are movable independently from each other. Thereby, the stopper panel surely stays at the preventing position except when the actuating mechanism moves the closing unit to open the insertion opening and moves the stopper panel to the allowing position. Accordingly, an incorrect insertion of the record medium into the record medium reproduction unit is prevented.
Preferably, the stopper panel is positioned inward from the closing unit within the main housing.
Thereby, the stopper panel surely stays at the preventing position except when the actuating mechanism moves the closing unit to open the insertion opening and moves the stopper panel to the allowing position. Accordingly, an incorrect insertion of the record medium into the record medium reproduction unit is prevented.
According to a further feature of the present invention, the mechanism has a plurality of peripheral walls surrounding the insertion opening, one of which has a hole, and the stopper panel has a hook received in both the insertion opening and the hole at the preventing position, while the hook can be positioned outside both the insertion opening and the hole at the allowing position.
Thus, at the preventing position, the hook of the stopper panel enters the hole of the peripheral wall, so that the stopper panel can not be moved to the allowing position by the insertion of the record medium.
According to a further feature of the present invention, the closing unit has a door panel with a pivot shaft extended in a lateral direction of the insertion opening such that the door panel is turnable around the pivot shaft to open and close the insertion opening, and the closing unit has a door panel moving gear for turning the door panel to open and close the insertion opening. The stopper panel has the hook and a cam member, the stopper panel being movable around the pivot shaft between the preventing position and the allowing position, the stopper panel moved by the turning of the cam member. The actuating mechanism has an actuating member slidingly moving outward in the main housing and a biasing spring biasing the stopper panel toward the preventing position. Thereby, the actuating member moves outward within the main housing to turn both the door panel moving gear and the cam member so that the door panel and the stopper panel turn around the pivot shaft to open the insertion opening and to move the stopper panel from the preventing position to the allowing position. Meanwhile, the actuating member moves inward within the main housing to be apart from both the door panel moving gear and the cam member so that the door panel closes the insertion opening and to move the stopper panel from the preventing position to the allowing position, and the biasing spring biases the stopper panel from the allowing position to the preventing position simultaneously with the closure of the record medium insertion opening by the door panel.
Thus, the biasing spring biases the stopper panel to the preventing position, so that the stopper panel prevents entry of the record medium into the main housing. Furthermore, the actuating member moves the door panel to open the insertion opening simultaneously with the movement of the stopper panel from the preventing position to the allowing position. This allows a sure insertion of the record medium into the main housing.
A third aspect of the invention is a mechanism for opening and closing a record medium entry passage to load and unload a main housing of a record medium reproduction unit with a record medium. The mechanism includes:
an entry opening for passing the record medium,
a stopper panel movable between a preventing position to prevent entry of the record medium through the record medium into the main housing and an allowing position to allow entry of the record medium through the record medium into the main housing, and
an engaging mechanism for preventing the stopper panel from moving toward the allowing position when the stopper panel is pushed inward within the main housing at the preventing position.
Thus, at the preventing position, the engaging mechanism prevents the stopper panel from moving toward the allowing position. Thereby, the engaging mechanism surely prevents the stopper panel from moving toward the allowing position against an force exerted by an incorrect insertion of the record medium. That is, the stopper panel prevents entry of the record medium into the main housing except when the actuating mechanism moves the stopper panel to the allowing position to allow entry of the record medium. This prevents an incorrect insertion of the record medium.
According to a further feature of the present invention, the mechanism has a plurality of peripheral walls surrounding the insertion opening, one of which has a hole, and the stopper panel has a hook received in both the insertion opening and the hole at the preventing position, while the hook can be positioned outside both the insertion opening and the hole at the allowing position. The engaging mechanism has a dent formed in a surface of the hook and a protrusion formed on an inner surface of the hole so as to be engageable with the hook. Thereby, the protrusion engages with the dent at the preventing position when the hook is pushed inward within the main housing.
Thus, the engaging mechanism has the dent formed on the hook and the protrusion formed on the hole. Pushing the hook inward within the main housing causes the protrusion to engage with the dent. The engagement of the protrusion with the dent surely prevents the hook from coming out from the hole even when an incorrect insertion of the record medium pushes the stopper panel. Accordingly, an undesired insertion of the record medium is surely prevented.
According to a further feature of the present invention, the mechanism has a plurality of peripheral walls surrounding the insertion opening, one of which has a hole, and the stopper panel has a hook received in both the insertion opening and the hole at the preventing position, while the hook can be positioned outside both the insertion opening and the hole at the allowing position. The engaging mechanism has a first protrusion formed on an inner wall of the hole so as to protrude toward the hook and a second protrusion formed on a surface of the hook at an inward side within the main housing so as to be extended inward in the main housing. The first protrusion engages with the second protrusion at the preventing position so as to prevent the turning of the hook when the hook is pushed inward within the main housing.
Thus, the engagement of the first and second protrusions prevents the hook from coming out from the hole even when an incorrect insertion of the record medium pushes the stopper panel. This surely prevents the stopper panel from moving toward the allowing position. Thereby, an undesired insertion of the record medium is surely prevented.
According to a further feature of the present invention, the mechanism has a plurality of peripheral walls surrounding the insertion opening, one of which has a hole, and the stopper panel has a hook received in both the insertion opening and the hole at the preventing position, while the hook can be positioned outside both the insertion opening and the hole at the allowing position. The engaging mechanism has a dent formed in a surface of the hook. Thereby, a peripheral portion of the hole engages with the dent at the preventing position to prevent the turning of the hook when the hook is pushed inward within the main housing.
Thus, the engagement of the peripheral portion with the dent surely prevents the hook from coming out from the hole even when an incorrect insertion of the record medium pushes the stopper panel. Accordingly, an undesired insertion of the record medium is surely prevented.